The Sega-Gremlin Collection comes courtesy of Frank and Keturah Fogleman as well as David Conover.

These tapes represent a collection of film material related to the company Sega/Gremlin, arcade games, and video games in pop culture.

Gremlin Industries was founded in 1970 by Frank Fogleman and Carl Grindle and in 1978 was purchased by Sega Enterprises Inc., thereafter called Gremlin-Sega or Sega-Gremlin (the latter was more common). Throughout the early period of video games, the combined might of Sega and Gremlin led to the company being the most prolific developer and publisher of arcade games in the United States above all others. Sega-Gremlin innovated marketing techniques such as video tapes for coin-op operators and distributors as well as video game commercials, both of which are represented in this collection.

Each tape was taken from a VHS and transferred to digital by Ethan Johnson and David Conover. The first six tapes come from the collection of Frank and Keturah Fogleman, representing a range of promotional tapes, news reports, and television series episodes featuring video games. The full VHS have been edited to correct errors and minimize static downtime as well as remove irrelevant content which includes explicit material which will be documented elsewhere. The last tape comes courtesy of David Conover, featuring three Sega-Gremlin commercials created by advertising firm Dailey and Associates.

Information from each tape will be provided below. The captions on the tape will be listed first, followed by the succinct contents of the tape after evaluation. Notes on edits follow. For tapes with multiple relevant parts, they have been uploaded in one full part and separate parts for easy viewing.

Tape 1

(Side Caption)

Gremlin Show Open 2:26 / Head On 2 Tape 5:10

New Products 2:17 / HO2 Game play :50 / Deep Scan Game

play :41 / Invinco Gm ply 1:37 / MONACO GP 1:50

FOGLEMAN

(Top Caption)

Gremlin Show Open

2:26

Head-On 2 Train. Tape

5:10

New Products – 2:17

HO2 - :50 / Dp Scn :41 / Inv 1:37

MONACO 1:50

Contents – This tape contains a promotional video shown for distributors and operators at Gremlin’s distributor meeting in early 1980 with the tagline “Gremlin ‘80 It’s a Whole New Game” featuring their 1979 product line. Featured games include Head-On 2, Deep/Scan, Invinco, and Monaco GP. Other games featured in the video include Safari, Heli Shooter, Blasto, Frogs, Hustle, and Plinker’s Canyon. This tape is represented in videos one through eight.

The second tape ends with introducing Gremlin’s director of sales, Jack Gordon, who presumably would step on stage after the showing and before the subsequent tape. Gremlin in this video also promotes use of their Multiphase technology used in Head-On, a feature which increased the difficulty as players continued which was irregular in arcade games at the time.

Edits – This tape was edited to remove long intervals of static in between each tape segment. Otherwise the resolution, interlacing, and color remains unaltered from the DVD rip as much as possible.

Tape 2

(Side Caption)

Fogleman

Contents – This tape contains a news report by NBC Magazine special report around 1981 or 1982 investigating the group Leisure Time Electronics operating from Indianapolis, Indiana. The firm was accused of misleading buyers of their arcade cabinets as to the potential earnings of their machines and claiming that they were licensed manufacturers of the games themselves. These operations in the coin-op business were often referred to Blue Suede Shoes men or Blue Sky Operators who circumvented the traditional coin-op industry to sell games directly to investors. Host Betsy Aaron along with an investigative team infiltrate and confront Leisure Time about their potential deception. The tape is represented in video nine.

Featured games sold by Leisure Time Electronics include Moon Lander, Astro Laser, and Space Ranger. Other games shown include Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, Defender, Asteroids, and more. The game also contains part of a TV commercial for Leisure Time Electronics featuring a pinball game.

Edits – The tape was edited to end at the conclusion of the news section when static overtakes the screen. Otherwise the resolution, interlacing, and color remains unaltered from the DVD rip as much as possible.

Tape 3

This tape does not appear to feature any video game related content and will be uploaded elsewhere.

Tape 4

(Side Caption)

FROGGY HOP

Contents – This tape contains a segment of the TV show Gimme a Break! Episode 9, “Julie’s First Love” first aired on January 7, 1982. In this segment, the character Chief confronts his daughter Julie in a Westworld arcade after grounding her. The featured game which they play at is the two-play version of Vanguard. Other games seen are Pac-Man, a Battlezone cabaret, Space Invaders, as well as a game called Froggy Hop which appears to be a converted Asteroids cabinet. Several pinball games and other table-based arcade games can be seen. This tape is represented in video ten.

Edits – A segment prior to the scene at the arcade as well as the fade in were removed to preserve most of the relevant clip. An interrupted segment between the credits was also removed. Otherwise the resolution, interlacing, and color remains unaltered from the DVD rip as much as possible.

Tape 5

(Side Caption)

GREMLIN

(Top Caption)

GREMLIN

Contents – This tape contains a series of promotional videos for Sega-Gremlin, spanning the 1981 to 1982 time period. It features several specific game promo videos as well as overviews of Sega-Gremlin’s facilities both in the United States and in Japan. Split into seven segments, the promotional tape was addressed specifically to distributors to make it clear that Sega-Gremlin was ambitious and valued the support of their network. This tape is represented in videos eleven to eighteen.

Though both the taglines of “Gremlin ‘80 It’s a Whole New Game” and “Visions ‘81” are represented, this specific compilation was put together in 1982 judging by the presence of Monster Bash. The first segment shows a newly edited version of the Gremlin ‘80 promo video featuring executives at the company like Jack Gordon and Duane Blough. The third segment is another musical number which follows the “Visions of 81” tagline. The final segment is a cinematically scored slideshow of Sega-Gremlin product development and service. Featured games with promo videos are Astro Blaster, Astro Fighter, Zaxxon, and Monster Bash. Other games including those from the Gremlin ‘80 promo video are present.

Edits – The original tape played the whole video four times so it has been shortened to just once. Most of the other takes had very bad audio errors, so a combination of audio tracks was used to provide consistency where possible, though some was present on the original transfer and could not be replaced. The majority of the audio in these clips comes from the fourth take and may be slightly desynced. Otherwise the resolution, interlacing, and color remains unaltered from the DVD rip as much as possible.

Tape 6

(Side Caption)

Fogleman

This tape does not appear to feature any video game related content and will be uploaded elsewhere.

Tape 7

Contents – This tape contains three commercials created in 1983 advertising home versions of Sega-Gremlin’s arcade games. The commercials were created by advertising house Dailey and Associates as a series of advertisements under their $8 million account with Sega Enterprises Inc. The games featured are Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator, Congo Bongo, and Bucker Rogers: Planet of Zoom. All graphics shown on screen are based on the Commodore 64 versions despite clear indication of the Atari version being played. This tape is represented in videos nineteen to twenty one.

Edits – The original tape has been split to eliminate black space; the commercials were already properly separated. Otherwise the resolution, interlacing, and color remains unaltered from the DVD rip as much as possible.

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